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Chief Nurse
The closing date is 22 March 2026
The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust (RNOH) is seeking to appoint an exceptional Chief Nurse at an important moment in the Trust’s development.
RNOH is a place with a proud heritage, a distinctive clinical mission and a deeply committed workforce. It is equally a Trust looking ahead determined to strengthen clinical leadership, modernise services and continue delivering outstanding specialist care for the patients who rely on it.
The coming years will be both exciting and challenging. The Trust is entering a period of significant transformation as it optimises its electronic health record, redesigns pathways of care and aligns the way it works to the three major shifts set out in the NHS Long Term Plan. Improving quality, safety, productivity and value simultaneously will require ambition, curiosity, resilience and compassionate leadership, and clinical executives who can bring people with them and translate strategy into better care on the ground.
This post sits at the heart of that agenda.
Main duties of the job
As Chief Nurse, you will play a central role in shaping the future of the organisation, strengthening quality and safety, and leading trust-wide clinical transformation at scale. As a key member of the Board and Executive Team, you will provide visible, professional and corporate leadership across nursing and care delivery, working alongside experienced executive colleagues with the full commitment of the Board to modernising services in a way that genuinely benefits patients and staff.
For a confidential discussion, please contact Hunter Healthcare.
About us
RNOH is the largest orthopaedic hospital in the UK and a global leader in our field.
We provide a dynamic working environment where we support frontline staff to implement improvements so that we can realise our vision of being a world-leading neuro‑musculoskeletal (MSK) hospital providing the best patient care and staff experience in the NHS, delivering world‑leading research, and offering a strong foundation of education, training and career progression.
Our dedicated staff come from diverse backgrounds, and our patients benefit from the wide range of experience they bring to the Trust. The RNOH brings unrivalled expertise together in one place allowing us to deliver some of the world’s most complex and innovative care to our patients.
* Rated Good by the CQC
* Recognised in the Newsweek survey as the 15th best orthopaedic hospital in the world and the best in the UK
* Consistently highly ranked for patient experience
* Amongst the best staff experience of any organisation in London as measured by the NHS staff survey
* Two primary sites, one in Stanmore and one in central London; the Stanmore site which is the largest site also has the Stanmore Building, a state‑of‑the‑art inpatient facility
* With an exciting strategy, with a focus on innovation in the delivery of MSK healthcare, prevention and enabling patients to live longer lives with less disability
Job responsibilities
The Chief Nurse is the professional head of nursing and a full unitary member of the Trust Board, with corporate accountability for the quality, safety and experience of care provided by the organisation.
The post holder is responsible for ensuring the delivery of safe, effective, compassionate and evidence‑based care, supported by high standards of professional practice, workforce capability and clinical governance.
The Chief Nurse leads the organisation’s approach to quality improvement, patient experience, clinical effectiveness and patient safety, working in partnership with the Chief Medical Officer and the wider executive team.
The Chief Nurse provides strategic leadership for the development and modernisation of nursing and care delivery, ensuring that services are designed around patient outcomes and experience. This includes leadership of innovation in care pathways, adoption of digital technologies, and redesign of clinical models to enable more responsive, efficient and personalised care.
The role holds executive responsibility for a number of statutory and regulatory functions, including Director of Infection Prevention and Control, Controlled Drugs Accountable Officer, Human Tissue Authority lead executive, and executive lead for safeguarding.
The Chief Nurse is also the Trust’s senior liaison for the Care Quality Commission and the named person on registration.
As a Board member, the Chief Nurse shares collective responsibility for organisational performance, financial stewardship, workforce strategy, culture and delivery of the Trust’s strategic objectives.
* KEY RELATIONSHIPS:
* Chair and non‑executive directors
* Chief Executive and executive directors
* Divisional leadership teams
* Nursing and AHP workforce
* Patients, families and patient groups
* Integrated Care System partners and Chief Nurses network
* Care Quality Commission (CQC) relationship manager
* NHS England and national professional bodies
* Academic and research partners
* System clinical and operational partners
Please see attached job description for further information.
Person Specification
IT Skills
* Strong understanding of digital healthcare systems (e.g. EPR/EHR)
* Ability to lead digital adoption within clinical services
* Experience using data to support quality improvement and pathway redesign
* Digital literacy sufficient to engage confidently in technology‑enabled service transformation
* Experience leading digitally enabled pathway redesign
Qualifications
* Registered Nurse with current NMC registration
* Educated to Masters degree level or equivalent experience
* Evidence of ongoing professional development
* Substantial (Sub)Board‑level or equivalent senior nursing leadership experience in a complex healthcare organisation
* Extensive knowledge of clinical governance, patient safety, safeguarding and quality systems
* Experience as Director of Infection Prevention and Control or equivalent infection control leadership
* Experience of regulatory engagement (CQC or equivalent)
* Experience leading organisational transformation and service redesign
* Experience of workforce strategy, leadership development and succession planning
* Formal leadership or management qualification
* Qualification in quality improvement, patient safety or digital health
* Experience in specialist or tertiary services
* System‑wide or ICs leadership experience
Experience
* Ability to interpret complex clinical, operational and performance data
* Strong strategic judgement in high‑risk and high‑profile environments
* Ability to balance quality, safety, financial and operational considerations
* Experience making evidence‑based decisions in complex systems
* Ability to assess and mitigate clinical and organisational risk
* Experience using digital dashboards and data analytics to drive improvement
* Executive leadership for development of nursing and quality strategy
* Experience shaping and implementing organisational policy at Board level
* Proven ability to lead service redesign and innovation
* Experience aligning service development with regulatory and statutory requirements
* Commitment to evidence‑based practice
* Experience supporting research capacity and capability within nursing
* Experience embedding quality improvement methodology
* Ability to operate autonomously within executive authority
* Experience exercising independent professional judgement
* Confidence to provide constructive challenge at Board level
* Ability to act decisively in complex and high‑pressure situations
* Experience leading digitally enabled pathway redesign
* Experience implementing or optimising EHR systems
* Knowledge of digital health innovation, AI or remote monitoring models
* Experience contributing to regional or national policy development
* Experience leading productivity improvement programmes
* Active involvement in research leadership or academic partnerships
* Publications or contribution to professional research activity
* Experience leading through significant organisational change or crisis
* Experience in sustained major organisational transformation
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust
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